Catalonia’s political past as a territorially differentiated community having its own representative and separated institutions, with respect to the sovereign power of the combined Catalan counties (988-1164), the Crown of Aragon (1164-1516), the Monarchy of Spain (1516-1808) and of the Spanish constitutional state (since 1812), can be divided into four stages, separated by three great ruptures in the legal/public order.

Pau i Treva de Déu ("Peace and Truce of God") was a social movement promoted in the eleventh century as the response of the Church and the peasants to the violences perpetrated by feudal nobles. The hometowns, then, delimited a protected space of feudal violence. However, to ensure a coexistence climate, it was necessary to go further, establishing an authority that prohibited the practice of any type of violent act anywhere in the territory. This was the objective of the assemblies of Peace and Truce of God, the first of which, in the Catalan counties, took place in Toluges (Roussillon), in 1027, under the presidency of Abbot Oliba, on behalf of Bishop Berenguer d'Elna, absent from the diocese because he was on a pilgrimage. The origin of the Catalan Courts can be considered from the Peace of Truce of God.

The Generalitat of Catalonia stems from the medieval institution which ruled, in the name of the King of the Crown of Aragon, some aspects of the administration of the Principality of Catalonia. The Catalan Courts were the main institution of the Principality during its existence as a political entity, and approved the Catalan constitutions. The first constitutions were that of the Courts of 1283.

The medieval precedent of the Generalitat, the Diputació del General de Catalunya ("Deputation of the General of Catalonia", where "General" means the political community of the Catalans and not the military rank) was a permanent council of deputies established by the Courts in order to recapt the new "tax of the General" in 1359, and gained an important political power during the next centuries, assuming tasks of prosecutor. It was chosen by the legislators in 1931 because they felt it was appropriate for invoking as a legitimising base for contemporary self-government.

Catalan institutions which depended on the Generalitat were abolished in what is currently known in Catalonia as Northern Catalonia, one year after the signature of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in the 17th century, which transferred the territory from Spanish to French sovereignty.

Left: Francesc Macià, first President of the restored Generalitat of Catalonia (1931-1933). Right: Lluís Companys, second President of the Generalitat (1933-1940), executed by Franco's regime

The Generalitat was restored in the Catalonia under Spanish administration in 1931 during the events of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic when Francesc Macià, leader of the Republican Left of Catalonia, declared the Catalan Republic on 14 April but later reached an agreement with the Spanish ministers, in which the Catalan Republic was renamed Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan: Generalitat de Catalunya) and given its modern political and representative function as the autonomous government of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic.[10] The restored Generalitat was ruled by a statute of autonomy approved by the Spanish Cortes and included a parliament, a presidency, a government and a court of appeal. It was presided by Francesc Macià (1931-1933) and Lluís Companys (1933-1940).

After the right wing coalition won the Spanish elections in 1934, the leftist leaders of the Generalitat of Catalonia rebelled in October of that year against the Spanish authorities, and it was temporarily suspended from 1934 to 1936.

In 1939, as the Spanish Civil War finished with the defeat of the Republican side, the Generalitat of Catalonia as an institution was abolished and remained so during all the Francoist dictatorship until 1975. The president of the Generalitat at the time, Lluís Companys, was tortured and executed in October 1940 for the crime of 'military rebellion'. Nonetheless, the Generalitat remained its official existence in exile, led by presidents Josep Irla (1940-1954) and Josep Tarradellas (1954-1980).

The succession of presidents of the Generalitat was maintained in exile from 1939 to 1977, when Josep Tarradellas returned to Catalonia and was recognized as the legitimate president by the Spanish government. Tarradellas, when he returned to Catalonia, made his often quoted remark "Ciutadans de Catalunya: ja sóc aquí" ("Citizens of Catalonia: I am back!"), reassuming the autonomous powers of Catalonia, one of the historic nationalities of present-day Spain.

José Montilla, leader of the Socialist Party, had been the president of the Generalitat until November 2010, he was backed up by a tripartite coalition of left-wing and Catalan nationalist political parties. His party actually won fewer seats in parliament than the main opposition party, Convergence and Union, in the 2006 election, but as he gathered more support from MPs from other parties in the parliament, he was able to repeat the same coalition government that his predecessor (Pasqual Maragall) had formed in order to send CiU to the opposition for the first time after 23 years of Jordi Pujol's government.

On 18 June 2006, a reformed version was approved of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and went into effect in August. In its inception, the reform was promoted by both the leftist parties in the government and by the main opposition party (CiU), which were united in pushing for increased devolution of powers from the Spanish government level, enhanced fiscal autonomy and finances, and explicit recognition of Catalonia's national identity; however the details of its final redaction were harshly fought and the subject became a controversial issue in the Catalan politics, with the ERC, themselves members of the Tripartite, opposing it.
In 2006, the Spanish Supreme Court of Justice reduced the main statute voted in a referendum, eliminating more than 200 articles, due to a signature collection promoted by then Mariano Rajoy and Brey. Reason for the Independence Boom that happened in 2010 with 8% support in 2018 with 52.4% Support.

Former president Artur Mas (mentioned above) was recently charged by the Spanish government for civil disobedience, after he organised and staged a referendum on independence in 2014.[13]

The autonomous government consists of the Executive Council, the President and the Parliament. Some people wrongly apply this name only to the executive council (the cabinet of the autonomous government); however, Generalitat de Catalunya is the system of Catalan autonomous government as a whole.

The region has gradually achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After Navarre and the Basque Country regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain. When it is fully instated, the Generalitat holds exclusive and wide jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments.[18] In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government.[19]

One of the examples of Catalonia's degree of autonomy is its own police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra ("Troopers"), which has taken over most of the police functions in Catalonia which used to be served by the Civil Guard(Guardia Civil) and the Spanish National Police Corps.

With few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The legal system is uniform throughout the Spanish state, with the exception of some parts of civil law – especially family, inheritance, and real estate law – that have traditionally been ruled by so-called foral law.[20] The fields of civil law that are subject to autonomous legislation have been codified in the Civil Code of Catalonia(Codi civil de Catalunya) consisting of six books that have successively entered into force since 2003.[21]

Another institution stemming from the Catalan autonomy statute, but independent from the Generalitat in its check and balance functions, is the Síndic de Greuges (ombudsman)[22] to address problems that may arise between private citizens or organizations and the Generalitat or local governments.

The Parliament of Catalonia (in Catalan: Parlament de Catalunya) is the legislative body of the Generalitat and represents the citizens of Catalonia. It is elected every four years by universal suffrage, and it has powers to legislate in different matters such as education, health, culture, internal institutional and territorial organization, election and control of the president of the Generalitat and the Government, budget and others, according with the Statute of Autonomy. The last Catalan election was held on 21 December 2017, and its current president is Roger Torrent, incumbent since January 2018.

The Executive Council (in Catalan: Consell Executiu) or Government (Govern), is the body responsible of the government of the Generalitat, it holds executive and regulatory power. It comprises the president of the Generalitat, the First Minister (or the Vice President) and the Ministers (consellers). Its seat is the Palau de la Generalitat, in Barcelona.

As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia is not recognized as a sovereign state by any sovereign state. However, as Catalonia has progressively gained a greater degree of self-government in recent years, the Catalan Government has established nearly bilateral relationships with foreign bodies. For the most part, these relationships are with the governments of other powerful subnational entities such as Quebec[23] or California.[24] In addition, like most Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia has permanent delegations before international organizations, such as the European Union.[25]

More recently, Catalonia has embarked upon an expansion process of its international representation by opening a number of delegations worldwide. As of 2017, these exceeded 40.[26][27] Most of these offices are located in major world cities like London, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo and others. Each office has specific duties assigned by their ministry or department agency. Generally, the functions of these are the representation of specific interests of the Government of Catalonia, trade and foreign investment, Catalan culture and language support, tourist promotion and international cooperation activities.[27][28]

Under application of article 155 of the Constitution following the constitutional crisis of 2017 Catalonia only had 1 delegation abroad, after the rest were closed, this delegation was the one of Brussels, Belgium. The Catalan Government elected after 21th December election is in process to restore the closed delegations.

This is the list of the current delegations of the Generalitat of Catalonia abroad:

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community and an historical nationality in Spain on the northeastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy Catalonia consists of four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the core of the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union. It comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is bordered by France (Occitanie) and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south. The official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan.

Josep Tarradellas

Catalan nationalism

Parliament of Catalonia

The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members ("diputats"), who are elected every four years or after extraordinary dissolution, chosen by universal suffrage in lists with four constituencies, the Catalan provinces. The Parliament building is located in Ciutadella park, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Outline of Catalonia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Catalonia:

2017 Catalan regional election

The 2017 Catalan regional election was held on Thursday, 21 December 2017 to elect the 12th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was called by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy after the invocation of Article 155 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution and dismissal of the Catalan Government, led by former President Carles Puigdemont. The three pro-Catalan independence parties won a slim majority of parliamentary seats, claiming 70 out of 135, but fell short of a majority in the popular vote by securing 47.5% of the share.

Carles Puigdemont

Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó is a Catalan nationalist politician and journalist from Spain, currently living in Belgium. A former Mayor of Girona, Puigdemont served as President of the Government of Catalonia from January 2016 to October 2017 when he was removed from office by the Spanish Government following the unilateral Catalan declaration of independence. He is chair of the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT) and leader of the Junts per Catalunya (JuntsxCat) electoral alliance.

Antoni Comín

Antoni Comín i Oliveres, known as Toni Comín, is a philosopher and Spanish politician from Catalonia. He is a former Conseller (Minister) of Health in the Catalan Government.

Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932

The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932, also called the Statute of Núria, was the first drafted statute of autonomy for Catalonia. The statute was promoted by the then President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Francesc Macià and approved in a referendum by 99% of voters. The draft Statute was completed on 20 June 1931 in Núria and finally approved in the Spanish Parliament on 9 September 1932.

2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis

The 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis, also known as the Catalan crisis, was a political conflict between the Government of Spain and the Generalitat de Catalunya under former President Carles Puigdemont—the government of the autonomous community of Catalonia until 28 October 2017—over the issue of Catalan independence. It started after the law intending to allow the 2017 Catalan independence referendum was denounced by the Spanish government under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and subsequently suspended by the Constitutional Court until it ruled on the issue. Some international media outlets have described the events as "one of the worst political crises in modern Spanish history".

Next Catalan regional election

The next Catalan regional election will be held no later than Friday, 4 February 2022, to elect the 13th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament will be up for election.

Puigdemont Government

The Puigdemont Government was the regional government of Catalonia led by President Carles Puigdemont between 2016 and 2017. It was formed in January 2016 after the resignation of Puigdemont's predecessor Artur Mas and it ended in October 2017 with the imposition of direct rule following the Catalan declaration of independence.

Carles Mundó

Carles Mundó i Blanch is a Spanish lawyer and politician from Catalonia who served as the Minister of Justice of Catalonia until the dismissal of the Parliament of Catalonia in 2017 due to its declaration of independence. He was reelected to the Catalan Parliament on December 21, 2017 as a member of the Catalonia Yes party.

Josep Rull

Josep Rull i Andreu is a Spanish politician from Catalonia. Had been the Counselor of Territory and Sustainability of Catalonia at the Government of Carles Puigdemont between 2016 and 2017, when Spanish Rajoy's Government ceased the Catalan executive following the Catalan declaration of independence amid the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution.